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Monday, June 4, 2007

Today's post is a transcription of a petition that was filed with the General Assembly in 1771. The petition was "rejected or not acted on" and was from citizens in Granville County who opposed a new law that required a tax paid on all wives of free Black citizens (unless the wife was a slave). Many of the signers I know to be free Blacks, but others are either white or unknown to me as of yet. An "*" replaces an unreadable letter and "(x)" is the person's mark

Petition from the inhabitants of Granville

1771, Entd.

To the Honble. the Speaker and Gentn. Of the house of AssemblyThe Petition of the Inhabitants of Granville County Humbly Sheweth that by the Act of Assembly Concerning Tythables it is among other things enacted that all free Negroes & Mulato Women and all wives of free Negroes & Mulatoes are Declar'd Tythables & Chargeable for Defraying the Public country & Parish Leveys of this Province which Your Petitioners Humbly Conceive is highly derogatory of the Rights of Freeborn Subjects.

Your Petitioners therefore Pray that An Act may pass Exempting Such free Negroes & Mulatoe Women and all wives other than Slaves of free Negroes & Mulatoes from being Listed as Tythables & from Paying any Public County or Parish Leveys and your Petitions Shall ever Pray &c.

John Smith

John Wilkerson

Charles Moore

James Norris

Christopher Thims

Thomas Head

William *ingson

John Head

James Caudill

Isom Caudill

Carter Hedge Beth

Martha Knight

Frances Davenport

Nathan Chiles

Benjamin Hendrick

Cubird Hudjons

Willis Roberts

Isaac Head

James Williamson

Joseph Hill

William Thims

William Cawthon

Thos. Loew

Wm Wallis

Isham Johnson

Isac White

JnoTudor

Jno Badget

William Head

Groves Howard

George Fagans

Charles Spaulding

Henry Spaulding

Gibea Chavis

William Matthews

Benjamin Bass

James Downey

Richd Burton

Benjamin *aze

John Davis

Lewis Anderson

Davie Mircoll Negroe

William Chavis

Samuel Huckaby

Lewis Collins

Thomas Butler

John Gwin

George Witlock

Humphrey Davis

Josiah Stovall

Ben Bearden

Lovet Gates

Shadrach Roberts

Thomas Wittington*

William Whorton

John Harris

Robert Down

John Hart

Edward (X) Bass

Rubin (X) Bass

Lawrence (X) Pettiford

Agula (X) Snele

A few comments on the names:

1. The following a free Blacks that I'm currently/actively researching:

2. The following names are probably free Blacks, but I do not have enough information on them:

Thomas, John, and William Head

James and Ison Caudill

George Fagan (I've come across this surname many times in connection to free Blacks in NC, but nothing definite one way or another. There was a line of free Blacks surnamed Fagan in VA and George could be a descendant)

Charles and Henry Spaulding (Spaulding is a surname I see a lot in connection with free Blacks in NC)

Samuel Huckaby

John Gwin (this could be John Gowen)

Humphrey Davis

John Harris (both Davis and Harris are surnames of whites and free Blacks in Granville County. I don't know about these two individuals)

Agula Snele (This is actually "Aquila Snell" or "Aquila Snelling". I've seen Aquila [both as Snell and Snelling] mentioned numerous times in connection with free Blacks in Granville County, and Aquila Snelling most likely married into the Chavis family according to research done by Paul Heinegg [Chavis, person #15, child v.])

NEXT BLOG: We're gonna move over to Craven County and I'll transcribe some apprenticeship records from the Spelman family.

12 comments:

Erin,It's interesting that you mention this 1771 Petition, because it has been something I have looked at quite a lot over the years, too. I have interests in several of the names on the list, but this is the first time that I have actually heard from anyone else that they thought that the 2 CAUDILLs were probably black. It is something I have been trying to determine myself for some time because my 3rd ggrandather was JOHN HAYWOOD CORDLE/CAUDLE who was born in 1821 Warren Co., listed as a free mulatto in all of the census records. There are no records of any CAUDLE/CORDLE/CAUDILL, etc. in Warren Co. prior to 1850 when my ggrandfather first appears living with his EVANS in-laws, yet I have found that all of the people of color with the surname found in Warren & the surrounding counties afterwards, were all descended from JOHN H. CAUDLE & MARY POLLY EVANS. I wonder if you have found anything else the 2 CAUDILLs in the 1771 Petition?

Unfortunately, I have no information on these specific individuals, but I've seen the Caudill surname in conjuntion with a lot of the Chavis and Bass family papers throughout my research, usually as a witness bondsman in a marriage, that type of thing. I'll try and do some digging on them, but it could be a while since I'm still in school and the next session of summer classes starts in 2 days.

I am the gggrandchild of Jhon Haywood caudle and Polly Evans. My Granddaddy was Samuel Caudle and great granddaddy was Limuel Caudle who is listed as Indian in Hollister/Halifax County.I wanted to correct you it was listed as mulatoo because they were black and Indian mixed bloods because of the quadroon law (Jim Crow Law)for census during that time they did not list anyone of black ancestry as Indian but mulatto. There are two different sets of Caudles and both are related to Jhon Haywood Caudle but all are of Indian ancestry.CAUDLE FAMILY MEMBER

Hello Erin,My name is Paulette Pettiford. I am a direct descendant of Lawrence Pettiford. I am African American. A few mbrs of my family along with myself have traced our roots back extensively. Im sitting watching this documentary called African American African Lives 2. So I typed the name Pettiford again and came across you. Can I ask why you would research my family? Cant wait to hear back from you.

Erin I am from Terre Haute In it is in Vigo County. My people migrated from Gandville county Nc in the 1830 and 1840. My Great great grandfathers names were Lewis and Jeremiah Anderson. They both homesteaded land in Vigo county in 1835 and 1838. By 1889 Jeremiah had 812 acres which he divided among his heirs. One of them was my Great Grandmother Omey Anderson Tyler They established schools and Churches In Lost Creek Township Vigo county In. Other family names were Archers,Chavis,Roberts,Stewart,Trevans, Tyler and Pettiford. I have learned that the Andersons were some the first free blacks in Grandvile County. I now live in Charlotte and would like any information you give me. Russell Tyler redmon1937@yahoo.com